Olympic Weightlifting: What Is It and Why Should You Try It?

Athletes and personal training clients introduced to Olympic weightlifting for the first time aren’t usually ready to try it. Misconceptions like “weight training will make you big and bulky” or “you move too fast during Olympic lifts for it to be safe” sway clients away from this type of training.

However, Olympic weightlifting is safer than many think. Athletes benefit tremendously from this type of training and clients can use it to achieve many of their health and fitness goals. Let’s take a closer look at the main lifts and how Olympic weightlifting works best.

What is Olympic Weightlifting?

Olympic weightlifting is considered an actual sport. This sport requires athletes to attempt a max effort on two main lifts. These include the snatch and the clean and jerk. During training programs, though, they often are broken down into three lifts:

• Power clean

• Jerk

• Snatch

The primary piece of equipment used to perform these lifts is a loaded barbell. Kettlebells and dumbbells can be used for variations to each lift but do not meet the official regulations. In the sport, each weightlifter has three attempts at each of the two lifts. The total of the two highest attempts counts. 

This sport tests more than just strength. An athlete needs to have explosive strength. Olympic weightlifting requires power, speed, and strength all in one complex movement. 

Traditional resistance training or bodybuilding programs include lifts that can be performed at different tempos, and the main goal is still being accomplished. The same goes for powerlifting where a deadlift or bench press can be completed at any speed. At the end of the day, the movements are completely different. To execute complex movements, muscle coordination is needed among other demands. 

Muscle coordination is one of the biggest benefits of Olympic weightlifting movements. So much so that Olympic lifting can even help children. 

Olympic Weightlifting Training

Adding Olympic style lifts to your client’s training programs can be incredibly beneficial to their fitness goals. Here are the three lifts to consider:

Power Clean

The power clean is a part of the clean and jerk Olympic lift. This explosive total body movement starts from the ground. A popular variation of the power clean is the hang clean. But let’s break down the full power clean Olympic lifting technique.

Step 1: Begin in a standing position with feet hip-width apart. Place your shins against the bar and keep them over the top of your feet. Bend down and grab the bar with an overhand grip. Keep your hips low, maintain a neutral spine, and keep your chest up. Engage your back and brace your core muscles prior to the lift by pulling your shoulders back.

Step 2: Pull the bar off the ground by forcefully extending your legs and hips. The bar path should be vertical. Do not lift the bar and pull it into your hips. As the bar passes your knees, quickly dip at the knees and hips to produce more power for the second pull. Keep the body in a vertical position.

Step 3: Powerfully jump and perform triple extension. Triple extension means achieving full extension at the hips, knees, and ankles. Simultaneously shrug your shoulders and keep the bar as close to your body as possible. 

Step 4: To complete the lift, drop into a quarter squat and drive your elbows forward. Catch the barbell in the front rack position. Allow the bar to roll in your fingertips to allow your elbows to drive forward more efficiently.  

Jerk

This comes right after the clean. To perform the full clean and jerk, execute the power clean and then the jerk. The jerk begins from the racked position or the ending clean position.

Step 1: Secure the barbell in a racked position. Ensure your elbows are elevated so your arms are parallel to the ground. Clients who have poor shoulder mobility may be unable to achieve this position. To help them adjust to the appropriate position, have them grip wider on the barbell.

Step 2: Once the bar is in a secure position with the elbows up high, the next step is to dip and drive. The dip and drive refers to flexing or bending at the knees, hips, and ankles. This builds up the energy and force needed to execute the movement. This lower body power development is a short and quick range of motion.

Step 3: Next, drive in the opposite direction of the dip. Redirect the force and energy built up through your trunk and legs. Forcefully extend the knees, hips, and ankles. Hip extension is important, but do not smash the barbell against your hips. Keep a vertical bar path to produce enough force upwards. This will ensure the barbell becomes weightless. Once it reaches its highest point, you will proceed to the catch phase.

Step 4: To catch the barbell you will need to drop underneath the bar. To do this you will rapidly split your stance. With one foot staggered in front of the other, you will simultaneously lock out the arms.

Step 5: The lock-out completes the movement. Your arms should be in the overhead position and fully extended. The barbell sits behind the head, not over the head. Once you achieve this stable split stance you can reset. 

To rest, take a half step back with the front foot and then a half step forward with the back foot. Lower the bar back to the racked position. From here you can drop the barbell to the ground if it has bumper plates.

Snatch

Lastly, the snatch is its own separate lift. It is similar in some respects to the clean in just the beginning phases of the exercise. The clean and snatch terminology refers to your grip width on the barbell. The clean is a narrower grip, while the snatch is a much wider grip. 

Step 1: With feet shoulder or hip-width apart, position your hands in the snatch grip. To find your optimal snatch grip, first grip as wide on the bar as possible. Do so in a standing position, then adjust your grip so that the barbell rests at your belt line. Once you have your hands positioned start from the ground. Drop down and grab the bar keeping your shins against the bar. Pull the shoulders back and keep a flat back all while engaging the posterior chain.

Step 2: Lift the barbell by driving through the ground and pushing the knees back. Keep your hips back and once the barbell reaches above the knee, rapidly drive the body upwards. Like a vertical jump, you want to focus on hip extension. Drive the hips forward and keep the bar as close to your body as possible. Keep the bar bath in a straight line.

Step 3: When the bar reaches its maximum height, no higher than the sternum, drop underneath the bar. The catch phase will force you into an overhead squat. As the bar approaches its highest level it still carries some momentum. Before it completely stops you must drop under it, push the bar above the head and extend the arms. A good cue to remember is to punch the ceiling. As you do this, drop into a squat position. 

Learn more: Check out these plyometric training exercises. Olympic weightlifting and plyometric training have both been shown to improve power development and performance for athletes, such as with vertical jump performance.

Why Should You Try Olympic Weightlifting?

Olympic style weightlifting lifts promotes muscle growth and fat burn. It improves muscular coordination and increases overall speed and strength. There are so many benefits to engaging in this type of lifting. 

Full Body Workout

All three lifts incorporate multiple large muscle groups. This means muscle fibers are recruited throughout the entire body. The lower body, core, and trunk are responsible for developing the most force and power. They help stabilize the body along with shoulder mobility and upper body strength.

Core Strength

Core stabilizer muscles are highly active in Olympic weightlifting. They keep the body balanced throughout each movement and stabilize the spine. This contributes to postural alignment and alleviates unwanted stress off the lower back. Dynamic stability is critical in providing strength and stability within joints. This is especially important when moving at rapid speeds. This translates to all daily activities of living and sports performance. 

Muscle Coordination

Since these lifts are full body exercises, you need coordination to execute them. Many different muscle groups work together at once and this demands muscle coordination. This will also increase metabolism and calorie burn.

The rhythm and timing of movements are important for completing the exercise. Proper timing will help prevent injury. It will improve body awareness for athletic performance and all client goals.

Speed

All total body movements need to be done quickly and with proper technique. This translates to other activities and sports. Moving quickly increases fast twitch muscle fibers. Training your body over time to move heavy weight at a fast rate, improves top speed and acceleration.

Coaching Olympic Lifts and Athletics

Olympic weightlifting programs are typically seen with athletic development. There are many benefits to becoming a strength and conditioning coach. Whether you enjoy working with athletes or are looking for ways to take your clients’ training up a notch, check out ISSA’s Strength and Conditioning course. This will allow you to help all types of clients reach their max potential. 

References

Hackett, D., Davies, T., Soomro, N., & Halaki, M. (2016). Olympic weightlifting training improves vertical jump height in sportspeople: a systematic review with meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 50(14), 865–872. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094951